Competencies to Improve Care for Older Adults

Baccalaureate Competencies

AACN and the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing at New York University College of Nursing worked collaboratively with an expert panel to develop these competencies and curricular guidelines to serve as a supplement to the 2008 AACN Essentials of Baccalaureate Educationfor Professional Nursing Practice. The purpose of this document is to assist nurse educators in incorporating geriatric-focused nursing content and learning opportunities into the baccalaureate nursing curriculum, including both the didactic and clinical experiencesto ensure that nursing students are able to provide the necessary geriatric care for the nation’s aging population. This project was generously funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation.

Advanced Practice Competencies

This 2010 publication delineates the entry-level competencies for graduates of master’s, doctorate of nursing practice (DNP), and post-graduate programs preparing primary care NPs who serve the adult-gerontology population. The competencies are intended to be used in conjunction with — and build upon — the graduate and APRN core competencies outlined in the AACN (2006) Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice or the AACN (1996) Essentials of Master’s Education for Advanced Practice Nursing. In addition, these competencies build upon the NONPF (2006) core competencies for all nurse practitioners. These consensus-based competencies focus on the unique practice knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the adult-gerontology primary care NP.

The national Consensus Model for APRN Regulation: Licensure, Accreditation, Certification, and Education (LACE), finalized in 2008, defines advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and standardized requirements for each of the four APRN regulatory components included in LACE. Under this model, now endorsed by 45 national nursing organizations, the certified nurse practitioner (CNP) is defined as one of four APRN roles. In addition to the four roles, APRNs are educated and practice in at least one of six population foci: family/individual across the lifespan, adult-gerontology, pediatrics, neonatal, women’s health/gender-related or psych/mental health. In addition, the CNP is prepared with the acute care CNP competencies and/or the primary care CNP competencies.

This 2012 publication delineates the entry-level competencies for graduates of master’s, doctorate of nursing practice (DNP), and post-graduate programs preparing acute care NPs who serve the adult-gerontology population. The competencies are intended to be used in conjunction with — and build upon — the graduate and APRN core competencies outlined in the AACN (2006) Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice or the AACN (1996) Essentials of Master’s Education for Advanced Practice Nursing. In addition, these competencies build upon the NONPF (2006) core competencies for all nurse practitioners. These consensus-based competencies focus on the unique practice knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the adult-gerontology acute care NP. Significant overlap in the acute care and primary care NP competencies does exist; however, the practice of the acute care and primary care adult-gerontology NP differs. The scope of practice of either the acute care or primary care NP is not setting specific but rather is based on patient care needs. The focus of the adult-gerontology acute care NP is to provide patient-centered, quality care across the entire adult-older adult age spectrum.

This 2010 publication delineates entry-level competencies for all graduates of master’s, doctorate of nursing practice (DNP), and post-graduate programs preparing adult-gerontology clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) for certification and licensure. The competencies are intended to be used in conjunction with and build upon the graduate and APRN core competencies outlined in the AACN (2006) Essentials of Doctoral Education for Advanced Nursing Practice or the AACN (1996) Essentials of Master’s Education for Advanced Practice Nursing. In addition, these competencies build upon the National CNS Core Competencies (2008) for all clinical nurse specialists. These competencies focus on the unique practice knowledge, skills, and attitudes of the adult-gerontology CNS.

The Consensus Model for APRN Regulation: Licensure, Accreditation, Certification, and Education(LACE), finalized in 2008, defines advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and standardized requirements for each of the four APRN regulatory components included in LACE. Under this, now endorsed by 45 national nursing organizations, the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) is defined as one of four APRN roles. In addition to the four roles, APRNs are educated and practice in at least one of six population foci: family/individual across the lifespan, adult-gerontology, pediatrics, neonatal, women’s health/gender-related, or psych/mental health.

This 2010 publication describes the recommended competencies of new graduates of graduate-degree and post-graduate certificate programs preparing certified nurse practitioners (CNPs) prepared to care for those populations that provide care to older adults but who are not adult-gerontology CNPs. Specifically, these populations include the family CNP who provides care across the lifespan, and the women’s health or gender-related CNP (APRN Consensus Work Group and NCSBN APRN Advisory Committee, 2008). This set of recommended competencies is not intended to alter or replace competencies developed for these CNP populations. Rather, the competencies described here complement other role and population competencies and highlight those areas of competence and evidence-based knowledge that CNPs providing care to older adults should have in order to improve health outcomes, quality of life, and level of functioning of the growing population of older adults.

This 2010 publication describes the recommended competencies of new graduates of graduate-degree and post-graduate certificate programs preparing clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) prepared to care for those populations that provide care to older adults but are not adult-gerontology CNSs. Specifically, these populations include across the lifespan, and the women’s health or gender-related CNS as defined in the Consensus Model for APRN Regulation: Licensure, Accreditation, Certification and Education Group, 2008). This set of recommended competencies is not intended to alter or replace competencies developed for these CNS populations. Rather the competencies described in this document complement and are intended to augment the national CNS core (National CNS Competency Task Force, 2008) and population-focused competencies. The competencies delineated in this document are intended to highlight those areas of competence and evidence-based knowledge that CNSs providing care to older adults should have in order to improve health outcomes, quality of life, and level of functioning of the growing population of older adults.